<p>I did a forum search for the music scene around Berkeley but it'd be nice to hear a little bit more about it.
So does Telegraph Avenue live up to its boasts about how Amoeba Records is the "Best Music Store in the World" in this one pamphlet?
And if not, are there other music stores that are personal favorites of yours?</p>
<p>I don't want to drop names of genres because they can be subjective but I like an array of bands from Pavement, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, and The Dismemberment Plan to less-established acts like Brandtson, Anberlin, The Format, Quietdrive, and Waking Ashland to list a few. I'm hoping that the music stores have such bands in their inventory. </p>
<p>And UCSD and UCLA seem to serve as venues for several bands/festivals, is Cal also a hot spot for stuff like that?</p>
<p>Yeah I'm interested in this info too. I know there's the Greek Theatre. Norah Jones is coming and so are a bunch of '80's groups in June. I found some really good; Berkeley community theatre, Zappa plays Zappa August 20th (welcome week). I also always wanted to see UB40 and they're playing at Wente Vineyards in Livermore in late August, which I think is close to Berkeley, sort of. I like most everything from TV on the Radio to Green Day to Classic Rock. And reggae, of course.</p>
<p>San Francisco is a hot spot for music! Especially 60's hippie stuff.... but I'm sure you already knew that. The Warfield, The Filmore and the various arenas in Oakland and SF both have a numerous number of bands.</p>
<p>dude, seriously...given the bands you mentioned, you will go crazy (in a good way) with the music selection in berkeley and the bay area in general. The indi scene is huge and amoeba is a great record store. I've found more cool stuff there used than most places have new. </p>
<p>Also, just down the street is Rasputin...it's like 3 stories of crazy good music. The live scene in the bay area is nuts. Just about every band you mentioned plays shows in San Francisco and smaller acts play in and around berkeley. Gillman in berkeley is famous for giving bands like AFI, Rancid, Green Day etc., a venue to play when they were just getting started long long ago.</p>
<p>I'd say the bay area and LA without a doubt have the best music scenes in the country (better than both boston and NYC, and I've spent plenty of time on the east coast).</p>
<p>Anyway...there's usually good shows every night of the week in San Francisco and you can get there on Bart in like 25 minutes.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>oh...you should find this interesting too...Radiohead played the Greek Theatre at Berkeley earlier this year. If that doesn't say anything about the drawing power of Berkeley and the Bay Area for music, than I don't know what does.</p>
<p>last thing I promise...Cal's radio stations "CalX" is widely considered to be among the best and most progressive college radio stations in the country. You can definitely get their stuff (pod casts and the like) on itunes.</p>
<p>Yeah dude, don't worry bout it. Not counting the many concerts in San Fransisco (there have been numerous occasions when I'd go to the city at least twice a week for concerts) the Arcade Fire and Daft Punk are both playing at the Greek Theatre over the summer and Sonic Youth is playing at the Berkeley community Theatre. Amoeba isn't as big as the one in Los Angeles but it + Rasputin make for any music enthusiasts dream.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks for the reassurance guys. Now I can rest any fears about leaving LA and missing out on the music.</p>
<p>I had a feeling that SF would be akin to LA in some respects but confirmation from current students is always good.</p>
<p>CalX sounds interesting; I'll be sure to tune in sometime but is there a link to the official site for it or something?</p>
<p>that's KALX actually, at <a href="http://kalx.berkeley.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://kalx.berkeley.edu/</a></p>
<p>both amoebas in the bay (san francisco and berkeley) are excellent, but the sf one is, in my opinion, far better. sf amoeba occasionally hosts free live shows (from good artists!) and is larger than the berkeley branch. the rasputin's and amoeba are nothing to laugh at, however, and it certainly doesn't hurt only having them two minutes away.</p>
<p>venues in berkeley are limited, but there are plenty of accessible ones in sf (bart -> muni). if you need to stay in berkeley, probably the greek and the berkeley community theater, on the berkeley high school campus, are the two places to find them. otherwise, you have too many opportunities to list.</p>
<p>if you have any interest in blue grass or american roots music, then check out Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco. It is a weekend of FREE music in Golden Gate Park. Top notch musicians are booked for it.
And there is also, The Freight and Salvage, a Berkeley landmark for folk music (but they book quite a bit more than that) that is moving to downtown Berkeley</p>
<p>other options are the open mike nights at Larry Blakes and performances at the Jazz School.</p>